Their Islam versus Our Islam: Hasan Kamaal deplores Talibani Islam

Islam, Women and Feminism

19 Jan 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com

Their Islam versus Our Islam: Hasan Kamaal deplores Talibani Islam

Taliban cannot be taken as the representative of 1000 million Muslims all over the world.  I think it's my duty to inform the world that the anti-women attitude of Taliban is absolutely un-Islamic; rather it is an insult to the religion Islam- which practically introduced the concept of "Women 's Rights " to the world – which gave women for the first time in human history the right to property and asked them to manage their own property by themselves. It also gave them permission to engage in trade and business. – Hasan Kamaal Translated from Urdu by Syed Raihan Ahmad Nezami --- An Indian Taliban slams mainstream Muslim view   Taliban are fulfilling the role of liberators of their country, from the clutches of foreign hegemonists.   Hasan Kamaal, with other Marxists like Javed Akhtar and Javed Anand, had formed a paper organisation called Muslim for Social Democracy… Of the trio in MSD, both Javed Akhtar and Javed Anand are professed agnostics, if not atheist and the group has now taken up the noble mission of projecting their version of Islam as the true Islam. Can there be any more flagrant travesty of fact, that those, whose professed beliefs are against Islam, should now have the audacity to become the votaries of 'true' Islam of their own concoction. --- Ghulam Muhammed -----------------------------   Their Islam – Our Islam By Hasan Kamaal                   This Hadith Shareef is narrated by Hazrat Abu Huraira (May Allah Kareem be pleased with him).                   Once the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) asked his followers.                 "Do you know who is poor?"                 The people (Sahabees) replied, "The person among us, who has no wealth or property is poor."                   The Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) asserted.           "No, the poor among my "Ummah", on the Day of resurrection, will be the person who will bring "Salah", "Saum", and "Zakat" along with him but he might have abused someone, would have had unlawful extra-marital relationship with someone and would have cheated some one (committed Kheyanat), or killed some one, or would have deprived some one of his rights. All his good deeds will be given to victims of his bad deeds". In case, his good deeds are short, their (victims') evil deeds will be loaded over him. At last, he would be thrown into the Hell.    (Saheeh Muslim, Kitab-ul-Bir, wa Sila wa Al-Adab, Chapter-Tahreem-ul-Zulm)                   Then I read Al-Surah At-Takvir in the Holy Quran Kareem. Maulana Abul Aa'la Maudoodi while explaining this Aa'yat, "the girl, who was buried alive will be asked, which crime was she punished for?"          He has described another Hadeeth Shareef.                   "The one who has saved an orphan girl and brought her up (till she became self-reliant), will stand beside me (the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) like this (pointing by joining two fingers together)"                   Obviously, education and cultural training are integral parts of the upbringing and looking after of a child.                   It was a nice co-incidence that I read the aforesaid Ahadeeth Shareef at a time when the burning news was published in many newspapers including Urdu newspapers that all the 100 schools will be burnt in the Taliban-ruled territory where the Afghani girls are being educated.                   It was a great shock to me as I have been taught since childhood that obtaining education is a compulsory social duty for every man and woman. Even I know that our dearest Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) has instructed us to obtain education and learning even if that requires going abroad, even travelling as far as China, (probably considered the most distant point by Arabs of those days).                   Sure enough, by asking to obtain education, the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) must have meant worldly education and learning as, at that time, there were no Islamic madrasas in China where the knowledge of Fiqha would have been imparted.                   Should I believe that the Taliban have acquired Islamic teachings different from us. Still I do remember that Taliban had issued a 15 point dictum when they had come to power in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks on U.S which contained the following two most controversial points.   1.       All female education centres will be closed. 2.       Women cannot be employed in offices and they can survive on "Zakat".   With this pronouncement, thousands of women, who had been working in offices or in any other institution, were declared unemployed in a single day.   I am unable to understand, where from has this particular chapter of atrocity on women entered into the Islam of Taliban? The Holy Quran Kareem and the Hadeeth Shareef are totally against this atrocity and torture rather their approach is revolutionary, unable to be found in any of the religious doctrines in the world.   According to the newspaper, another order was passed that the parents, who have adult daughters of marriageable age, must inform the Imam of the local mosque about them so that their daughters may be married to any suitable Taliban militant. In this way, the girl would not only be married but, from the day of her marriage itself, she would also start waiting for the day of her widowhood.   When I raised this point in personal conversation in my friends' circle, most of them denounced the un-Islamic order, but a few of them objected upon the validity of the news concerning the orders of Taliban as it might be the propaganda of the enemies of Taliban. I replied to them that there was no proof that the news was fake and that Taliban had indeed issued such an order.   Actually, the problem was, my friends didn't want to accept that the Taliban, who propagate themselves as true and perfect Muslims, can possibly issue such un-Islamic orders.   Of course, it's surprising; their orders were totally un-Islamic. I told them, in case, this news was false and it was not issued by Taliban, they should have strongly denied this very easily as they don't have any dearth of the means of communication. They might have broadcast this denial all over the world from their radio station in Wazeeristan.  Ironically enough, the audio-video cassettes containing the message of Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden can reach far and wide, anywhere in the world in no time.   The video cassettes of Osama bin Laden had reached U.S exactly two days before the previous presidential elections in which President George Bush was fighting for a second term and it became one of the main reasons behind his success for the second term as the President.   In recent times, Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar are out of sight but Ayman Al-Zawahari and Baitullah Mahsood are alive and quite active. If this information was wrong, at least an audio cassette should have been issued, the popular Al-Jazeera channel would have been broadcast it very happily. I am dead sure, the news was not wrong; particularly the Urdu print media don't publish any fake news, actually the matter is something else.   The famous American journalist and author Steve Coll  has disclosed some bare truth with documentary proofs in his latest book, "Ghost Wars" (it is heard it was recently studied by Barack Obama.   According to Steve Coll, Taliban had been created in the decade of 1980 after the military advancement of Russia over Afghanistan that had left no stone unturned to push the "Mulhid" communists away from their country.   These Taliban militants had been trained in the madrasas of the militant camps settled in Pakistan. In the initial days, the followers of Taliban were really very simple and of perfect Islamic character. Actually, the way they had fought against the Russian aggression, the second greatest military power of the world at that time, was really commendable. That's now part of history. At that time, the U.S had patted their back, appreciated their "Jihad" whole-heartedly and provided the Mujahedeen all sorts of military and financial help.   But alas! After the defeat of Russia and the downfall of the communism, America had neither interest in these Mujahedeen nor in their objective of Jihad. So in no time, they left Afghanistan with bag and baggage.   The other side of the picture is mind-blowing. In Afghanistan, after the war was over, several tribes indulged in civil war in pursuit of power. It has been divided in various tribes for centuries where the tribal customs are no less powerful than religious instructions. Ironically enough, a brave, trusted, truthful but moderate Muslim Sardar, Ahmed Shah Mas'ood, who was also called "the Tiger of Panjsher," was the greatest rival of Taliban and Mullah Omar. And Taliban had no resources, fund or the military weapons to fight against him.    The sources of American assistance had dried up, at this juncture; Osama bin Laden helped Taliban open-heartedly with funds, arms and ammunitions. That's why the Taliban including Mullah Omar came under the influence of Osama bin Laden. Since then they are captivated by his philosophy and following his orders like slaves. They are at his beck and call and their attitude has become harder and harder.   Anyway, after all the above discussion, it is not only necessary but also I think it's my duty to inform the world that the attitude of Taliban against the women is absolutely un-Islamic; rather it is an insult to the religion Islam- which practically introduced the "Rights of Women" to the world – which gave women for the first time in human history the right to property and asked them to manage their own property by themselves. It also gave them permission to engage in trade and business.   Taliban cannot be taken as the representative of 1000 million Muslims all over the world.   Courtesy: Urdu Daily Inquilab, 11 Jan 2009 (available at http://www.inquilab.com/)                 Hasan Kamal is a renowned columnist and former editor of Urdu Blitz.                 Translated from Urdu by Syed Raihan Ahmad Nezami, Najran, Saudi Arabia URL: http://www.newageislam.com/controlpanel/AddArticles.aspx?Article_ID=1134 ------------------------                                                                                                                                                                       -----------------------------------------------                    An Indian Taliban slams mainstream Muslim view    Hasan Kamaal, with other Marxists like Javed Akhtar and Javed Anand, had formed a paper organisation called Muslim for Social Democracy… Of the trio in MSD, both Javed Akhtar and Javed Anand are professed agnostics, if not atheist and the group has now taken up the noble mission of projecting their version of Islam as the true Islam. Can there be any more flagrant travesty of fact, that those, whose professed beliefs are against Islam, should now have the audacity to become the votaries of 'true' Islam of their own concoction. Naturally the headline to the article starts sowing differences from the very outset, among the Muslim community in India.  In fact, they follow the world-wide trend to sow divisions in Islamic polity on behalf of the world's Zionist controlled US and are completely subservient to ideas put out by others and paddle them as their own.   "Taliban are fulfilling the role of liberators of their country, from the clutches of foreign hegemonists." -- Ghulam Muhammed   Mumbai's premier Urdu newspaper, Inquilab, Mumbai in its today/Sunday edition carries an article written by one of its more popular writers, Hasan Kamal, under the title: Your Islam and our Islam. The title itself is meant to create mischief. Hasan Kamal, with other Marxists like Javed Akhtar and Javed Anand, had formed a paper organisation called Muslim for Social Democracy, has been an editor of URDU BLITZ, for decades and had followed his Leftist mission with the approval of the owner of BLITZ, the late R. K. Karanjia, who in his heyday, moved in the circle of world socialist leadership, like Egyptian leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, among others. Of the trio in MSD, both Javed Akhtar and Javed Anand are professed agnostics, if not atheist and the group has now taken up the noble mission of projecting their version of Islam as the true Islam. Can there be any more flagrant travesty of fact, that those, whose professed beliefs are against Islam, should now have the audacity to become the votaries of 'true' Islam of their own concoction. Naturally the headline to the article starts sowing differences from the very outset, among the Muslim community in India.  In fact, they follow the world-wide trend to sow divisions in Islamic polity on behalf of the world's Zionist controlled US and are completely subservient to ideas put out by others and paddle them as their own.   The articles deals with the news, that Taliban have recently threatened girls to abide by Islamic strictures and abstain from going to 'schools'.   Three points have to be considered in this respect. US has turned against Taliban as their leader Mullah Umar had refused to allow US oil giant UNOCAL to lay pipeline across Afghanistan as they differed on various terms. US then decided to overthrow Taliban hold on Afghanistan and start world wide propaganda against them as belonging to conservative brand of Islam that was against women in particular. The war over territory now turned a war on the ideology and practice of Islam in full conformity with the world wide war on terror or effectively a war on Islam. Taliban overnight turned into villains. Those who oppose Taliban, should first clear their own bona fides, if they are not following the western propaganda against Islam and not trying to reform Islam while in fact, working against Islam.    Taliban are in bad books with the Left, as they were in the same league as other Islamic Jihadists, who had overthrown Soviet Union forces that had occupied Afghanistan. That hurt still lingers and that is the main reason why the leftist find it convenient to join US propaganda to make Taliban the common enemy of the Western imperialists and as well as the Fundamentalist Marxists still embedded in woodworks around the world and waiting for their day in the daylight once again.   The recent advances made by Taliban in its confrontation with the occupied forces of US and NATO, with India merely participating as a contractor, possibly like Halliburton and KBR, the two private contractors that reaped billions of dollars through fictitious account fabrications, that might now attract Justice department scrutiny, when Obama takes over, --- justifiably rang alarm bells in Indian security establishments. The Indian media without the intellect or the moral fibre to think on its own are sheepishly following US propaganda line against Taliban.   Leftist among the media are most vocal about Taliban treatment of women, as liberation of women has been their most potent instrument of change in society. They hardly bother to mention that the Soviet Union and its satellite states had rendered practically half of their womenfolk into legalized prostitution. Even today, a good decade and half after the break-up of Communist Soviet Union, the bulk of women trafficking in the world is centred on the devastated lands of the communist regimes. If Hasan Kamal wants his Islam to make that an ideal for Muslims to follow, he should at least not be economical with the full facts of the liberation of women according to Soviet model.   It is a fact that Taliban had been openly fighting to preserve the old customs within Islamic fold that were more cultural than religious.    However, it can be argued that Taliban had come out most vocally against the so-called women's liberation, as their main objective was to stop the subversion and disintegration of their society that had set in during the few years of Communist rule in Afghanistan.   Any new broom sweeps with new vigour. There is no reason to believe that over the time, Taliban would not have followed other Muslim nations and started educating their womenfolk, within the norms of the societal parameters that had kept Afghanistan identity alive. However, it would have been their free choice, not imposition from occupying forces, either of the Communist or Western kind.    Those who had visited Afghanistan during communist rule could not deny that in the name of liberation of girl-child, the urban areas under communist state's jurisdiction, widespread womanizing and prostitution had come to be regarded as the new dawn of civilisation.   Afghanistan economy had not (and still has not) expanded enough to give employment opportunities to the educated womenfolk and when they broke away from their family moorings, they had to support themselves through means fair or foul. So merely educating the masses, without any commitment for their absorption in new decent societal standards that fits Islamic traditions, was not a progressive but a very destructive 'revolution'. And the beauty of this 'modernization' was that it was supported by both sides fighting for paramountcy in Afghanistan, the Marxist and the capitalist imperialists.   In this context, Taliban are fulfilling the role of liberators of their country, from the clutches of foreign hegemonists.    Hasan Kamal wrote off his column, without even bothering to check if Taliban had ever issued any such statement and what is the worth of any such pronunciation. For him, it is frivolous to even think otherwise, as long as fits their agenda of sowing divisions in Muslim community and dividing 'their' Islam from 'our' Islam.. After all the US and its Jewish thank tanks have done a thorough brain wash of the whole world and it is preposterous to expect that some of our writers, would not fall prey to the imperialist line against Islam and Muslims. Samuel Huntington is dead, but not his ideas about the 'clash of civilisation'. It is for us to know, which side we belong and not to get distracted from minor and temporary set-backs.   Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai URL: http://www.newageislam.com/controlpanel/AddArticles.aspx?Article_ID=1134